Lamorindans Say: "Set the Alarm, Moneypenny... I Mean, Honey - It's Time for Our Three Martini Lunch"

The idea of a stranger breaking into our homes is enough to drive anyone to consider adding security features, like buying a dog, digging a moat filled with alligators, or digging a moat filled with alligators with laser beams on their heads.  And while laser-equipped alligators are technology that even determined thieves would find daunting, most Lamorindans are more likely to explore reptile-free alternatives.

Technologies from cameras to biometric locks are readily available to homeowners and many are keen to put the latest and greatest to work protecting their homes.  Alarm experts caution against adopting the view of technology as a security panacea without putting in place tried-and-true low tech security measures. However when it comes to protecting home and family, sometimes peace of mind trumps technology’s demonstrated effectiveness.

Tracking down residents who’ve installed a new biometric lock or Web-enabled camera system in Lamorinda is no easy task. “It’s available, but it’s relatively new,” says Lior Ruben, owner of Moraga-based Global Security. “There aren’t a whole lot of people buying it.”

Technology in alarm systems tends to more evolutionary than revolutionary. Alarm systems that etect intrusions, for instance, have evolved to be more reliable and minimize a major failing - false alarms - says Ruben.  Those changes, he added, have been progressive and not necessarily noticeable to users.

“What has changed are the ways the alarm system can transmit its signal to base,”  Ruben explained. Traditionally, an alarm system’s signal was transmitted over phone lines, but more recent technology uses cell phone signals as a back up in case phone lines are cut or, in some cases, even as the primary means of communication.

Ruben adds that another area of recent technological change in residential alarms focuses on how the systems are monitored and managed. It’s much more common for home owners to opt for technology that allows them to access their systems via Web-enabled devices that can turn lights on and off, in addition to setting and managing their alarm systems.

Michael Sheehan is a Lamorinda resident who does just that. He’s a technophile whose blog chronicles the adventures of high-tech fatherhood in his Lamorinda neighborhood. He is definitely in the more-technology-is-better camp, though he has yet to embrace laser-gators.  Sheehan’s home is protected by a traditional monitored alarm, as well as a gaggle of cameras both inside and out that he frequently monitors over his iGadgets.

He started out with three cameras given to him by the manufacturer so he could review them for his blog. He has several more inside, which he also reviewed, one of which is monitored by an alarm monitoring service.  Sheehan did the install himself and set them up so he can logon remotely and see what happening live, as well as go back and see what happened earlier. He says, via email, that such a set up costs a bit more, “but that gives you the piece of mind that you can go back and see something that happened earlier.”

Eric Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for Bay Alarm Company, isn’t so sure that cameras have much to offer those wanting to prevent their homes from being burgled.  “You might have a video of a person with a hoodie on,” but by then, Taylor points out, that person is on his way out with your stuff.  “You want to make sure a thief doesn’t get into your house.”

Bay Alarm has been in business since 1946 and has seen technology change a great deal in that time. Taylor, who also lives in Lamorinda, describes himself as a technology enthusiast who has all the latest toys. In spite of his tech-thusiasm, he insists that over the years Bay Alarm has found that when it comes to alarm technology, “the less complex, easier to adapt to your lifestyle is better.”

Taylor secures his home with tried-and-true, low-tech features like a traditional alarm system monitored by a service, motion-activated lights around the perimeter, a visible alarm company sign, and an audible alarm to both alert neighbors and scare thieves.  He also makes sure bushes are trimmed back from the sides of the house so they don’t provide cover for lurking burglars.

“In our experience that is the best technology available,” Taylor said.

And that’s the technology that Tracy and Jonathan Fayman have protecting their Lamorinda home.  They built their house from the ground up about two years ago and had an alarm installed as soon as the walls were up.  “Having an alarm system was very important to me,” said Jonathan.  He explained that they wanted an alarm system for piece of mind so they would know that, “the house is safe when we’re not home and safe when we are home.”

Their system is monitored by their alarm company, Global Security, and they have motion-activated lights around the perimeter, as well as a visible alarm company sign out front.  Their house was built with additional data infrastructure inside the walls, so they have the option of adding more advance technology like cameras.  However, they’re split on whether cameras are the next step.  Tracy says she’s still deliberating about whether to install cameras.  She says it might provide further deterrence if someone sees a camera.  Jonathan, however, is not so sure about the technology.

“I’m not sure I want a picture of the person who was breaking in,” he says.

For the most part, Jonathan sees the alarm mainly as a way to discourage bad guys from breaking in by making the house a less attractive target, “It’s the basic block-and-tackle.”  The intention of their security efforts is to put statistics on their side.  There are hundreds of houses in any given neighborhood and not all of them have alarm company signs out front and many don’t have alarms, which he says gives would-be burglars too many other choices.

Bay Alarm’s Taylor echoes the strategy of making a home into less of an opportunity for a would-be crook looking for a quick way to make money.  “They’re not Tom Cruise dangling from the ceiling from wires,” he points out.

Still, techno-dad Sheehan says that there are other ways technology like cameras can be helpful, from watching your kids get home from school to keeping an eye on the handyman. Ultimately, after installing the basic, tried-and-true security steps, selecting the next level of technology to install may have more to do with which technology provides the individual homeowner with the greatest peace of mind.

Editor's Note:  Patch agreed to maintain the privacy of the individuals interviewed for this story by disclosing only that they lived in “Lamorinda.”  Additionally, specific model types and other details about their alarm systems and hardware were also off limits with the article focusing on general system set-ups.

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